Dark Days: Book One - The Beginning of the End
by Sand Torrent
Summary: The Reach is putting the final steps of their plan in motion... meanwhile, mysterious events are transpiring worldwide...
1. Propaganda

**Hi ppl! SAND TORRENT here. I'm super excited about this story! It's gonna be AWESOME!**

* * *

_New York City_

Richard Grayson was nervous. No... not exactly nervous. More like... apprehensive. The Reach had already won the hearts of the people. They had the press on their side. Making a speech against them in the United Nations building was going to be tough. As he made his way to the podium, he felt the eyes of the crowd on him. He heard clamors and excited whispers. "Nightwing- it's him- oh my god-" Richard blocked out all of the voices and took his place behind the podium. The Reach's ambassador walked up to him and turned to the crowd. "Here, we have Nightwing. He has graciously offered to set aside some of his time to sign our contract. This will bring about a new era of peace, in which the Reach and humans can coexist in an intergalactic society." Nightwing sighed. "I'm not here to sign your contract, ambassador."

The ambassador raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Our vision of an ideal society does not appeal to you? We will live together in harmony. The human race will flourish not only on Earth, but on other planets. Your population would expand greatly, and your economy would thrive due to intergalactic trade. We have the resources and the means to allow you to accomplish this. I do not see why you refuse our offer." Nightwing glared at the ambassador. "I think you know why, ambassador. We both know the real reason that the Reach is on Earth. You're intergalactic conquerors who are trying to subjugate the people of Earth, by making them think your goals are noble."

The ambassador laughed. "And why would we do that? We are a peaceful race. We are diplomats, traders. We would never think of doing such a thing. Also, why would we employ such a method to take over your planet? Why not use brute force?" Nightwing turned to the audience. "Because the Green Lantern Corps forced the Reach into a pact. You can only take over a planet if that planet's inhabitants willingly accept your rule."

The ambassador narrowed his eyes. "And where did you... learn this lie?" Nightwing turned back to him. "The Justice League's database." The ambassador smiled again. "I think that I've had enough of this. Your claims are preposterous, and have an insufficient amount of evidence to support them. I think we're done here." Two guards walked across the stage to Nightwing. "Sorry, sir. But you have to leave this event." Nightwing scowled and looked over his shoulder at the ambassador. "This isn't over, ambassador."

* * *

_Rimbor_

Batman sighed. The six heroes were walking to the Bat-ship. They had been cleared of all charges, due to Batman finding camera footage of Vandal Savage mind controlling the League. It was quite handy to have a wrist computer that could tap into the Watchtower's previous security footage. The authorities in charge found the League innocent, and offered their apologies. Still, something was amiss... "What's wrong?" Superman inquired. The Dark Knight turned. "What do you mean?" Superman's lip curled. "You're obviously in deep thought about something. Anything wrong?" Batman scowled. "Something's wrong, Superman. I have a feeling that something happened in that courtroom." Superman raised an eyebrow. "What exactly do you mean?"

"I mean that I saw money changing hands. Rimbor's currency. The judge recieved money from a source unknown to me. He was sitting in the back of the room. When the judge called for a break, I noticed our suspect give the judge money. I didn't see his face." Superman let out a deep breath. "But our names have been cleared. And that's what matters."

The heroes continued walking, and the Bat-ship soon came into sight. Batman narrowed his eyes. "Wait." Several dozens of aliens were shooting at the Bat-ship with laser firearms. Wonder Woman flew up to the Bat-ship and stood on top of it. "What are you doing?" she asked menacingly. The aliens stopped shooting, and started frantically speaking in Interlac. Batman walked up to the ship. "I suggest that you all stand aside and let us pass. We intend to get back to our home planet."

"Sorry, Batman," a voice from above said. "But the deal has been made. You will not leave Rimbor." The Caped Crusader looked up. "Judge," he stated calmly. "Who paid you to do this?" The judge descended in his pod-like vehicle, revealing a translating mechanism on the pod. "Sorry, Earthling. That is confidential information." Green Lantern raised his hand, and his ring glowed. "Then, we have a problem." Martian Manhunter and Hawkgirl rose up into the air, their attention on the judge. Hawkgirl drew her mace. The Man of Steel followed suit, glaring at the aliens.

The judge laughed. "Kill them!" The aliens raised their guns.

* * *

_Undisclosed location_

The Boy of Steel woke with a start. Where the hell was he? What was going on? He tried to get his bearings. He was in a storage room, locked in some sort of containment pod, not unlike a Cadmus pod. An inhibitor collar was on his neck. He slammed against the edge of the container, but to no avail. Without his Kryptonian strength, he had no chance of breaking out. Superboy growled in frustration. Then, it all came crashing down on him. Blue Beetle. That traitor had sent him here.

He had trusted him. A mistake. "Aaaaaaaaargh!" Superboy bellowed. He continued to pound his fists against the pod, until his hands started bleeding profusely. He swore under his breath. When he got out of the damn pod, Blue Beetle would pay.

What had happened? All he remembered was a white flash. Blinding pain. Then, he woke up in the pod. The sound of footsteps jerked Superboy out of his daze. He looked up to see Blue Beetle standing in front of his pod. "BLUE! GET ME OUT OF THIS DAMN POD, OR I SWEAR I'LL RIP YOU IN HALF!" Blue Beetle narrowed his eyes. "Lo siento, hermano. But I can't do that. Now, go back to sleep." Blue Beetle raised his hand, which morphed into a cannon. Blue waves of energy washed over Superboy. Within seconds, he was asleep again.

* * *

_War World_

Arsenal collapsed, exhausted. He should never have panicked. Stupid, stupid, STUPID! He had run away from Blue Beetle. He was a coward. A bloody coward. Who was he kidding? He didn't deserve a place on the team. He was a rookie with a robotic arm. He might as well have been a civilian!

No. He couldn't dwell on it. He had to find his way back to the edge of the world. Then, he would take an escape pod to Earth. But every turn he had taken, every corner he had rounded, only led to dead ends. And he always ended back there. A bright orange room with various pieces of alien technology scattered about.

Arsenal was hungry and fatigued. If he didn't find his way out soon, he would die.

* * *

_Metropolis_

Lex Luthor looked out over the jewel of the East Coast. The home of Superman. Dozens of other titles. But to Luthor, Metropolis was just an investment. Nothing more. He was standing on the roof of a LexCorp building, contemplating how his business would skyrocket after the Reach's plan was carried out.

Then, Luthor's phone rang. He pressed the talk button and held it to his ear. "Ra's. I presume that you did not call on social reasons?"

_"Unfortunately not, Lex. I wanted to give you a message. Tell the ambassador that we are ready. The final part of the plan can be carried out."_

Luthor smiled. "Very well, Ra's." Luthor pocketed his phone, still smiling. Soon, everyone would see the Light.

* * *

_Gotham City_

Blackhawk looked out over the Gotham skyline. Something was terribly wrong. He didn't know how, or when. All he knew was that Gotham City was in flames.

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**O.o What will happen to the Leaguers on Rimbor? **

**Where exactly is Superboy? **

**What is the Reach's plan?**

**Who is Blackhawk?**

**Stay tuned to find out!**

**CHEESE!**


	2. Evidence

**Hi guys! First: Kamil the Awesome - Don't worry, the other characters WILL show up later on! Keep reading!**

** Nox - Hey noxie! Trust me, you'll like the next few chapters!**

**Ok, another thing. AN OC KNOWN AS FALCON WILL BE INTRODUCED IN THIS CHAPTER. HOWEVER, HE IS THE CREATION OF FALCON FROM YOUNG JUSTICE RPG. ALL CREDIT FOR THE CHARACTER GOES TO HIM. I HAVE GOTTEN HIS PERMISSION TO USE HIS CHARACTER IN MY STORY. **

**Ok, that will be all. Enjoy, or perish!**

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_Rimbor_

As he watched the battle raging below him, the Man of Steel suddenly felt a fist to his face. "Ungggh!" he grunted as he crashed into the ground. His jaw ached, and his lip was bleeding. He looked up. Another alien was slowly making its way toward him. He got to his feet unsteadily. This alien was orange in color, and had a black cloak on. It had a lot of muscle, and had to be at least 8 feet tall. "Kryptonian!" the alien bellowed. "I have heard many great things of your exploits. You and your puny league." He laughed. Superman pulled his fist back and slammed it into the alien's chest. The alien stumbled backwards. Then, the two combatants clashed again.

It was a contest of strength and will. Each individual could not get the upper hand on the other. Superman strained against his opponent's physical strength, which clearly rivaled his own. The two fighters exchanged blows for several minutes. Finally, Superman grabbed the alien's arm and hurled him into the air. The alien flew through the sky, flailing. He would wake up about a half-mile away, and in a lot of pain.

"We're done here," the Dark Knight's voice echoed. Superman turned. The other five Leaguers were standing amongst heaps of unconscious alien bodies, including the judge. Superman sighed. Let's get home."

* * *

_Bludhaven_

Vincent Olson woke up to an irritating beeping sound. He got out of his bed, still half-asleep, to find the source of the sound. "Craaaaap. Is that... Blackhawk's communication device?" he mused out loud. This was the third time this week that the kid had called. The other two times, it was because he needed school lunch money. Ugh. That kid. Hopefully, it was something serious this time. He went to his dresser and picked up the device. Then, he pressed the green button and put it to his ear. "Blackhawk? I'm taking a nap. I need some rest. What is it now? If you want lunch money, the answer is no, god damn it!"

_"Falcon! We got a situation here. Gotham is on f-f-fire!"_

Vincent frowned. "Whoa, hold on. Which part of Gotham?"

_"The whole damn city, boss! It's going up in flames!"_

Vincent swore. "Gimme your position, Blackhawk."

_"Wayne Enterprises Building. You'd better come here, Falcon. I need help. The other Guardians are all on duty."_

Vincent swallowed. "Stay where you are, kid. I'm coming."

* * *

_Gotham City_

What. The. Bloody. Hell. Nightwing looked out over the Gotham skyline. Shit. Something bad was going down. A massive breakout from Arkham Asylum... orchestrated by the Reach, no doubt, could only mean trouble. Nightwing sighed. The city was going up in flames, and there was no Batman to save the city. Only him. He looked down at the streets. The thugs were in control now. Shit. Bruce was gonna be pissed.

God. How did the Reach do it without drawing attention onto themselves? And why Gotham? It seemed so arbitrary, didn't it? Nightwing made a mental note of the situation. Batman would want to know. He then gracefully dived off of the building. Lights and buildings blurred in and out of his sight. Just as he was about to hit the ground, he shot a grappling hook into a building and swung down gracefully.

The goons turned and looked at him with surprise evident on their faces. "What the hell are you doing here, Nightwing? Piss off!" one of them exclaimed. Nightwing's expression didn't change, nor did he move. But when the thug lunged, he was ready. He blocked and countered, putting all of his momentum into a well-placed chop to the neck. The thug went down hard. The other baddies got ready for a game of Pound-the-Nightwing. Nightwing braced himself. Ugh. Bruce was gonna be pissed.

* * *

_New York City_

The ambassador waved to the adoring public. Such idiots. They were gullible beyond belief. "Now... to business. We held a vote after Nightwing's declination of the Reach's proposal earlier today. Representatives from each nation in the U.N. charter voted. The vote was unanimous. The contract was signed by all representatives. Due to this, we can now overrule Nightwing's less popular decision." The crowd cheered. The ambassador waited for the crowd to settle down, then continued. "Now, in other news... as you know, there has been a massive breakout in Arkham Asylum. We advise you all not to panic. The situation will be taken care of shortly..."

All was going according to plan. The Light would be pleased.

* * *

_Taipei_

Wonder Girl woke with a start. What was going on? She was lying on grass, and she had no idea how she got there. Ugh. Nevermind, scratch that. Who was _she_? She couldn't recall anything about her life. She racked her brains, trying to remember where she had come from.

From the looks of it, she was in some sort of... park, in a city. Maybe... she could ask around? She walked towards the city lights, hoping that somebody could help her.

* * *

_Gotham City_

Blackhawk sighed in relief as he saw Falcon come up from the edge of the building. "Thanks for coming, man, I was getting worried." Falcon grimaced. "What the _hell _is going on here, kid?" Blackhawk beckoned him to the other side of the building. The two vigilantes looked down at the streets below. Goons and baddies of all shapes and sizes were destroying the city with firearms and other "toys." Falcon narrowed his eyes.

"There's been a massive breakout from Arkham," Blackhawk said.

"Damn it. The thugs own the streets now. There are too many down there for us to take head-on." Falcon turned to Blackhawk. "A distraction, kid."

Blackhawk grinned. "You got it, boss." Then, the two heroes leaped off of the building into the streets below. Falcon's wings extended, allowing him to descend smoothly. Blackhawk swung from his grapple, coming down with a barrel roll. Then, before the thugs could react, he tossed a smoke pellet amongst them.

As it turned out, the thugs were even bigger idiots when enveloped in smoke. The flailed around and sprayed bullets, hoping to get a lucky shot. Blackhawk and Falcon activated the heat sensors on their masks and then proceeded to smash the thugs into pulps. They worked like a deadly, efficient team. Each of their moves complimented the other's. After a series of chops and kicks, all of the thugs were down.

Falcon clapped Blackhawk on the back. "Not too shabby, kid." Blackhawk managed a smile. "Likewise, boss."

Then, Falcon heard footsteps behind them. He spun around, performing a series of vicious kicks. The guy sidestepped, and Falcon lunged. He grabbed the guy's arm and flipped him over his shoulder, slamming him into the pavement.

"Hey!" the guy said. "It's me, Falcon!" Wait... Falcon knew that voice. "Nightwing?" he asked. "Whoa, sorry, man." Nightwing sighed. "How did you not recognize me, Falcon?" Falcon backed away and took a good look at him. "Dude, you're unrecognizable. What the hell happened?" Nightwing sighed. "I got caught in a fire." Falcon nodded. "We'll be able to patch you up later. Can you still fight?" Nightwing nodded. "Of course. But there will be no need for it. I've got the evidence that we've been looking for. I think I can turn the people against the Reach."

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**I know, it wasn't my best! Next chapter will be better, I promise!**


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